SHARE YOUR SKILLS IN EVERY SEASON

I’m a lifelong student of nature

Immerse yourself in our STEM teaching and join our dedicated corps of Museum educators. You’ll find deep community guiding school programs for students in grades K–12.

I want to be beside the sea!

Make the Sea Center part of every week. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy our coastal treasures and share your passion for protecting them. Sea Center volunteers start by interpreting our exhibits, but with additional training you can branch out into more specialized roles, including animal care.

I can’t wait to grow up to make a difference

You don’t have to. At the Sea Center, people as young as 11 years old can start volunteering alongside a parent or guardian. Teens 13 and up have a variety of opportunities at both campuses, from summer volunteering to a multi-year internship leading to part-time paid work. Some Teen Programs are competitive; study up to prepare for spring applications at sbnature.org/teens

You’ll find it in our Butterfly Pavilion! Commit to a weekly 3-hour shift for the summer, make 1,000 flying new friends.

The Museum’s 23rd Annual Mission Creek Gala took place Saturday, April 15. Attended by 203 guests, it began with a lovely outdoor reception around the Palmer Observatory that included the opportunity to use the Marschak Telescope, visit with Astronomy Programs Specialist Krissie Cook, sample astronaut ice cream, and enjoy the Tang-based signature cocktail Buzzed Aldrin.

Guests made their way into Fleischmann Auditorium for the big décor reveal and dinner. The auditorium was transformed to look like guests were in space, with a giant LED screen on the stage displaying images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The décor was designed by Joy Full Events, Inc. and Hogue & Co. There were five speciallythemed tables that represented elements of the cosmos. The Milky Way Galaxy tableau, the Io Moon tableau, the Diamond Planet tableau, the Supernova tableau, and the Halley’s Comet tableau were each generously sponsored and uniquely designed to reflect the theme. Duo events provided the delicious dinner and 13 Napa Valley wineries donated the wine for the evening.

Each course started with a lesson from Cook about the James Webb Space Telescope image being displayed. Guests zoomed to five destinations throughout the evening.

After dinner, planetarium show presenter and Quasars to Sea Stars teen program participant Isabella Figueroa spoke passionately about why the Museum is so important. Museum President & CEO Luke J. Swetland made an appeal to the crowd and quickly raised $208,000.

The sold-out event was a huge success for the Museum, raising $575,000 in total. The night ended with guests going back out to the observatory to enjoy night sky telescope viewing and a late-night bite. The Gala Honorary Committee consisted of Stacey Byers, Sheri Eckmann, Venesa Faciane, Elisabeth Fowler, Heather Hambleton, Ken Kelly, Barbara Evans Kinnear, Karen Nicholson, and Susan Parker.